Ego & Bias
by hoshi-ni-onegai
Summary: Sometimes, first impressions are everything and Inuyasha wasn't winning any contests. While attending a holiday party, Kagome runs into a guy who grates her nerves like no one has before. AU. InuxKag.
1. Jingle Bells

Author Notes: I know, I know, I should be writing SysComp but I needed a break. For some reason I've been itching to write another Inuyasha fic so this is what came about. My fics usually start out with dialogue or situation that I really want to write, and the fic kind of builds from there. This particular fic grew from a the line Miroku says to Kagome pretty late on (hint: has to do with jingle bells). So this story was a gratuitous writing for me to just be able to fit that one line into a story. But as all things with writing, sometimes characters steer you in a different direction. So, as I was half way to getting to that line Miroku was to deliver, I realized there was a surprising resemblance to Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice_. Watch out, I'm getting pretentious over here. Okay, not a direct relation, but the more I thought about it the more fun it seemed. So I decided to do an Inuyasha modern adaptation of our favorite Austen novel. It won't be super faithful to the book nor will every character role be filled. Some characters also swap genders and how they're related to each other, but here goes nothing. I'm hoping to crank this piece out within the holiday season (as it is holiday themed), and it won't be a long epic story (I have two of those in the works and I don't need another one). Anyways, enjoy part one of Ego & Bias (yeah that's a hail back to the original Austen title) and tell me what you think.

**Disclaimer: The **_**Inuyasha**_** world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Takahashi Rumiko.**

**Jingle Bells**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

Kagome glanced down at her footwear and wondered if she had made the best decision. The silver platform high heels looked amazing in the store and the full length mirror in her bedroom, but now in the confines of the car she was having doubts. These sparkly monsters were a good inch and a half taller than anything she'd ever ventured before. God, she should have broken them in around her apartment before taking these out on their first mile.

The door to the passenger side opened and her cousin, Miroku, peered in. "Let's get this show on the road."

He offered his hand out to her, but Kagome could only look on enviously at his shoes. He was wearing a dark suit, a white colored shirt with no tie, grey v-neck sweat shirt and a sensible pair of black shoes that he probably wore to every event. How was it remotely fair that she needed a different dress for every new event while he probably wore that exact outfit to work that day?

Granted, the little black dress with silver embroidery along the skirt hem and top had called her name from the store window. She really couldn't blame society for her need for multiple event dresses. So, a third of her paycheck had gone to the overpriced store for the dress and heels. The sales associate had been overly persuasive and somehow convinced Kagome that she could rock the silver heels without a single misstep. Without the gushing sales associate by her side, Kagome's confidence in keeping her balance was waning.

"Second thoughts?" He propped his arm on the door and watched her as she continue to glare at her shoes. "Cold feet?"

"Har har." She grabbed her clutch and tugged her coat a little closer around her shoulders. "I'm regretting these shoes."

"What's wrong with them?" He offered his hand again, and this time she took it.

"They're just shy of being stilts, so I feel a little too high up." On her feet, she looped her arms through his for more support. "I'm going to be doing a whole lot of sitting at this party."

He grinned and patted her arm. "I think you're underestimating your balance."

"And I think you're overestimating it." She was thankful that despite it being a week away from Christmas, there was no snow or ice on the ground. The last thing she needed was a wintery obstacle course between the car and the house. Three cheers for small victories.

Approaching the front door, they could already hear the commotion of the sea of people inside. Miroku let out a low whistle at seeing the size of the house. "This place is huge." He took each step up the front steps of the modern house carefully while keeping his cousin's balance. The house was grandiose and obviously belonged to a wealthy man. "How do you know this Kouga guy again?"

"He's a high rolling client." She answered distracted as she kept watch of each step.

"At a book store?" Miroku sounded incredulous.

Finally reaching the door, Kagome took in a relieved breath. "Antique book store." She corrected. "He wanted us to track down a couple first editions."

"He's a collector?" He went to ring the doorbell, but thought better of it and reached for the doorknob. There really was no point with all the noise. "What's he do for a living?"

Kagome shrugged and made her way inside the house. "I think he was an initial investor in one of the social networking sites." Once inside, the warmth of the house and crowd seeped into her. She was grateful when Miroku offered to take her coat. "I think Kouga has more money than God and isn't exactly sure what to spend it on. So he decided he needed a few of Hemingway's first editions."

"So he spends a fortune on dusty old books then?" He knew exactly how to push her buttons.

She shot him a pointed glare. "Rare books are a sound investment."

Miroku laughed and gathered her coat and his. "I guess they lie to you a lot less than the titans on Wall Street." He motioned to the drinks bar. "I'll figure out where they're keeping the coats. I'll meet you back at the drinks."

Kagome frowned. "You're leaving me alone? I don't know anyone here."

"You know the owner." He pointed out before he left her and disappeared into the crowd.

She grumbled as she was left to her devices. Glancing around the crowd, she wondered how so many attractive people could find themselves in the same house. Kagome didn't have self esteem problems, but she was feeling homely in this particular crowd. She was now grateful for the shoes that added inches to her height. If not, she would have been dwarfed and stepped on. Feeling ridiculous standing alone by the entrance, she decided grabbing a drink was the best bet. At least with a drink she could loosen up and keep her hands busy.

Making her way to the bar set up in the living room, Kagome took in the enormity of the house. Even with the amount of people, the party wasn't cramped. The house was enormous with large expansive windows and modern edges. Kagome suspected that a renowned architect probably had a hand in designing the place, but she really didn't know any better. The music wasn't aggressively loud and the decoration was tastefully holiday themed. She had worried it would be a cheesy holiday party, but it seemed more like the who's who of the town. There were a few faces she recognized from glossy magazines and some she'd seen on the news as major players in the city and the country. She felt ridiculously out of place. Sure she had a few connections in the rare books community, but that didn't exactly make her a mover or a shaker.

Getting whiskey on the rocks for Miroku and a vodka tonic for herself, she surveyed the room to see if he was back. Not seeing her cousin, she stood awkwardly with her drinks. Great, now she looked like a friendless alcoholic. Seeing that the other guests were also wanting their drinks, she side stepped and got out of the way.

She desperately willed for Miroku to show up, but he was taking his sweet time. No doubt he came across a pretty girl and was trying to get her number. Resolving that her cousin was going to take longer than she hoped, she tried to look busy. In any other party she might have attempted striking up a conversation, but Kagome worried that she didn't have anything in common with the guests here. So when her attention landed on an impressive bookcase in the corner, she saw it as her salvation.

Books were her friends and she always had a lot in common with them. She groaned at her own internal musings. She was just two felines shy of becoming the crazy cat lady. Miroku already teased about her single life with her cat Buyo.

Coming up the bookcase, which fortunately didn't have a group of people nearby, Kagome immediately recognized the copy of _The Sun Also Rises_ resting behind a protective glass case. It had taken her months to track down this particular copy, and it had only been just last week when Kouga had come by to pick it up from the store. She hadn't expected him to put it on display in the living room though. She was also surprised to see that the book was displayed with the cover closed. Although any first edition of the novel was rare and valuable, the uniqueness of this copy laid in the cover page inside.

Browsing the rest of the bookcase she came across all the classic writers: Faulkner, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Voltaire, and so on. Much like the party guests, the collection was a who's who of literature. But there was only one other book behind a display, and that was the first edition of _The Old Man and the Sea_. Why he was fascinated by Hemingway was beyond her. Kouga never gave a clear answer, but she figured it must be personal.

As her eyes traced the art deco cover art on the copy of _The Sun Also Rises_, Kagome was jostled from behind. She was too distracted to right herself, and her shoes had her toppling forward and straight into the display case glass. She shut her eyes and braced herself with the two drinks still in hand. The shoes were definitely a bad idea.

Instead of crashing into the bookcase and straight through the glass, her body was tugged back. A strong arm was wrapped around her torso and had pulled her away from the bookcase and caused her to fall against a firm body. She let out a very unladylike grunt as the arm pressed in and upward on her diaphragm.

Opening her eyes, she was relieved to find that she hadn't caused an attention grabbing commotion. The last thing she needed was to be the klutz that bled all over the copy of Hemingway she could never hope to afford. She was also pleasantly surprised to find neither drink had spilled.

Nudging the arm around her torso she let out a sigh of relief at the rescue. "Thanks Miro-" She turned her head and froze when she didn't see her cousin.

Instead, she was met with one of the most handsome men she'd ever laid eyes on -which was saying a lot for this crowd. He was tall, even with her skyscraping shoes on. She was sure that without her heels, he would have been a head taller than her. She was convinced she could spend hours looking at his golden eyes and not get bored. And his hair. Well, that just wasn't something you saw every day. Kagome wasn't sure if it was premature graying or the man naturally had white hair, but it suited him a little too well. Gray and white seemed like the wrong word for his long locks tied at the nape of his neck. No, not gray nor white. His hair was like spun silver.

The man furrowed his brows at her and finally spoke. "Watch where you're standing, wench."

And the magic was gone. Any spell she was under by this man's looks was squashed by his harsh tone and words. Tugging herself out of his grasp, she narrowed her eyes at him. Why was it that the cute ones were always gay or assholes?

"Watching where you're walking, assbutt." She snapped back. It wasn't her proudest comeback, but at least she had something.

"Assbutt?" He repeated her insult incredulously.

Ignoring any comments he might give of her lackluster word choice, she turned on her foot to look back at the bookcase. She dealt with enough jerks at work to not want to deal with another one at a Christmas party. Drawing her attention to the other objects on the shelves, she tried ignoring the man.

"I don't even get a 'thank you?'" He questioned and stepped up next to her to look at the shelves with her.

Giving him a side-eyed glare, her voice was icy. "For what?"

"Saving you from falling over." He said as if it were obvious.

"Well, how about you apologize for knocking me over in the first place?" She bit back.

He seemed to consider her comment and nodded. He reached over and grabbed Miroku's whiskey out of her hands and took a sip. "I'll settle for this instead."

Kagome frowned. What was up with this guy? "It's an open bar." She argued.

"Yeah, and you don't need to hoard the liquor. It's not going anywhere." He said while keeping his eyes on the random knickknacks on the various shelves.

"Maybe I'm trying to roofie my date and you're drinking my only supply of rohypnol." She said evenly.

He stole a glance at her and looked back at the bookcase. "That's an overly elaborate lie to get back a free drink." He seemed to be unfazed by her overly vivid imagination. Instead, he motioned to the bookcase. "You're actually falling for this?"

She questioned his phrasing. "Falling for what?"

"Kouga's wall of seduction." He clarified.

Turning her attention back to the books, memorabilia, and photos, she saw them as perfectly harmless. There was really nothing overtly sexual about anything. "I don't follow."

The man pointed at the three pictures that took up residence in the open spots on the shelves next to the books. "Think about it. Why these pictures? Kouga, on top of Mount Everest. Kouga, shaking hands with Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mohammed Yunus. Kouga, posing with orphans in Africa as part of UNICEF."

In Kagome's mind, this guy had a bad case of envy with Kouga's life. But she decided to keep quiet with her theory. "They're proud moments in his life."

"How about the random collectables." He pointed to a small glass case with an old baseball inside. "You know what this is?"

"His first homerun ball from little league?" She really didn't know why she was playing along and talking to him.

"It's the 1923 World Series baseball signed by the entire Yankees roster." He pointed to a framed front page of a newspaper. "Original printing of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address."

"He has varying interests." Kagome said distractedly as she paid close attention to the newspaper, but not to the baseball. Any old piece of paper was fascinating in her book, and this was a piece of history.

"Every stereotypical intellectually stimulating classic title." He took another sip of his pilfered drink, and then indicated the last items on the shelf. "And two Hemingway first editions."

Kagome was getting the feeling that this guy wasn't going to leave her alone until he said his piece, so she sighed and humored him. "What's your point?"

"He's just trying to impress girls to get into their pants." He said bluntly.

She raised a brow at the hypothesis. "That's a bit cynical."

"Hey, I know the guy. Trust me, this is all for a girl." He assured. "From what I've heard, it's some chick who deals with old books."

"Oh?" Kagome answered innocently enough, no need to tell him that she fit the description.

"I told him it's not worth it. He wants to fulfill a sexy librarian fantasy, and probably picked the closest acceptable option. She's probably just some prude nerdy chic who's a little prettier than the average librarian." He chuckled at his own conclusion. "Why else does someone shell out that much money for two old books?"

Her fuse was shortening with each passing second, but she somehow kept it in check. "They're first edition Hemingways. Not signed copies of Twilight." She tried reasoning, giving him a chance to redeem himself.

"So? You can buy the e-book version, and the story is exactly the same. I get it if he likes Hemingway, just read the guy's work." He, unknowingly was digging himself into a grave. "You don't need to fork over the equivalent of a down payment on a house for an old copy."

She gritted her teeth and tried to keep her tone civil. "There's a sense of history in these books you won't get from reading it off of a Kindle."

"History? It's not like Hemingway actually wrote this thing out by hand. It's not his journal." The man kept on digging. "Hemingway probably never laid eyes on these copies, let alone touched them."

"Actually," Kagome started. "That's a signed copy of _The Sun Also Rises_. Not just a signed copy, but the one Hemingway gifted to his good friend, F. Scott Fitzgerald. So not only is it an important piece of literature, but it's also a testament of a friendship that two of the greatest American authors had."

She didn't stop her rant there. "Also, books are one of the few antiques you can still use without breaking it. You feel like you're participating in a part of history when you read from an already read copy. You read these stories that stood the test of time and wonder what the previous reader thought. Did they gasp at the twists? Did they cry when the main character's love died? Did they love to hate the villain?"

Kagome squared her shoulders, turned her attention back to the books, and took a languid sip from her glass. Without sparing him a glance, she finished her soliloquy. "And that, you can't get from an e-book."

"Oh shit." The man sounded guilty as realization hit him. "You're-"

He was suddenly interrupted by a new voice. "Inuyasha?" Both the silver-haired man and Kagome turned to see Miroku taking the final steps to join them.

"Miroku?" The man, now identified as Inuyasha, was just as surprised to see his friend. "The Hell are you doing here?"

"I came with her." He went up to her and raised a brow. "How do you know Inuyasha?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You know this jerk?"

Miroku sighed and looked over to his friend. "What did you say this time Inuyasha?"

"Forget it." Kagome cut in before he had a chance to answer. She shoved her other drink into Inuyasha's free hand and turned to Miroku. "Come on Miroku. Ask me to dance."

Tossing a sympathetic glance to his friend, he nodded to his cousin. "You know I can't turn away a beautiful woman."

Kagome grabbed Miroku's hand and practically dragged him to the other room where she had caught glimpses of people dancing. She needed to get away from the insensitive jerk who obviously looked down on her profession and industry.

Once she reached the dance area, she swung around to place her left hand on Miroku's upper arm and her right hand in his left. He couldn't help chuckling at her aggressive movements, which were obviously stemming from her encounter with Inuyasha.

"I'm surprised you made it all this way without tripping." He took the lead and swayed with the streaming Christmas music. "See, you underestimated your balance."

She frowned. "Don't tell me you know that pejorative asshat."

Miroku smirked at his cousin's attempt at an expletive. She was never one to blink twice at someone cursing, but she seemed to lack the art of doing it herself. "I've told you about Inuyasha before."

"I'd think I'd remember a name like that." She grumbled.

"He's one of my best friends." He clarified with smile still in place. "If you would take me up on that drink every once in awhile, you'd have met him by now."

"Well, thank God I decided not go to the bar with you." Her mood was lightening, but not by much.

"He's not that bad." Miroku tried defending his friend. "He's more bark than bite."

"Well, it doesn't really matter because I'm never seeing him again." She said as she caught sight of the host of the party, Kouga, move his way through the room. "Oh great, exactly what I need right now. Kouga's coming this way."

Miroku twirled her around to see what the guy looked like. "Pony tail? Blue eyes?"

"Yup." She tried hiding her face with her hair.

Seeing his cousin trying to hide, he maneuvered them so she was as out of sight as he could keep her. "Why are you avoiding him? Wasn't he the one who invited you to the party?"

"Not like I really had a choice." She slowly moved them to the edge of the room toward the kitchen.

"Are we on the run?" Miroku questioned as she took his hand and guided them away from the dancing couples in the opposite direction of Kouga.

She weaved them through the kitchen crowd and out toward the dining room. This house was turning out to be a bit of a maze as they passed through the different rooms. Getting into the enclosed heated sunroom, Kaoru ducked behind the wall by the door. The sunroom wasn't as crowded, but there were still people flowing in and out from the two rooms that fed into it.

"This is kinda fun." Miroku grinned as he also ducked behind the wall. "So why did we come to this party if you're avoiding him?"

Kagome groaned and leaned her head against the wall. "I was going to just say hi on the way out."

"Why even bother coming?" He questioned as he motioned to the patio furniture that was being freed up as a group moved on.

Securing the seats, Kagome let out a sigh of relief. Even though it had been less than an hour since she'd been on her feet, her shoes were starting to scream at her. "How many people do you think buy expensive rare books? I can't insult the guy. He could bad mouth me to his friends." She leaned back in the two-seater and glanced at Miroku who took the single seat. "Kouga's nice enough, but he comes on a little strong."

"Does he hassle you?" He asked, a protective tone entering his voice.

She rolled her eyes at him. Since Miroku didn't have any siblings, he adopted Kagome as his little sister. As four years her senior, he had warded off more than his fair share of interested male candidates from his little cousin.

"Nothing I can't handle." She assured. "He just keeps asking me out. I turn him down, but he's persistent."

"Maybe you need to lay down the law." He egged her on.

"Again, I have a reputation to keep up. Look at this party. These are the kind of people who can afford to collect books." She reasoned. "Anyways, he said he would finally give up if I came to his Christmas party."

"You should have come up with an excuse." Miroku argued.

"My boss talked me into it." Kagome gripped. "I think he has the ulterior motive for me to get more clients at this thing or something."

"So you're here in the capacity of a book dealer?" He questioned.

"Well, that, and I wanted to take this dress and shoes on a test run." She indicated her outfit.

Miroku looked her over and nodded. "What's the verdict?"

"You'll be seeing a repeat performance from this dress at New Year's, but these shoes are going to go back and die in their box." She glared at the offending footwear and flipped up one to look at the sole. "They're not really scuffed up yet. Maybe I can return them."

"Are you trying to cheat the system?" He laughed. "They're hot. Keep them."

Kagome furrowed her brows and shook her head. "I literally toppled over like a stack of Jenga. They're a safety hazard."

"You fell?" He bit back a laugh.

Thinking back on the memory, she grumbled. "More like your friend pushed me, but still doesn't change the fact that these make me unsteady on my feet."

"Inuyasha pushed you?" He sounded surprised. "He's a little rough around the edges, but he's not malicious."

"Whatever. I don't want to talk about him." She shook the memory off and sat up to address him. "So how many numbers did you get when you went to drop off our coats?"

Miroku mocked a gasp. "I don't know if I like what you're insinuating."

"How many numbers?" She was quick to ask.

Sighing in defeat, he let a smirk tug at the corner of his lips. "Two."

"You're losing your touch."She shook her head in faked disappointment.

"How many numbers did you get?" He asked in retaliation.

"I'm not out to make more notches in my bed post." She shrugged. "Also, I was invited here by a guy. I can't go around trying to get another date."

"So you changed your mind about Kouga?"

Kagome scrunched her nose. "I can't handle his attention."

He chuckled and commented in an exaggerated voice. "Woe is you. An insanely rich, smart, good looking bachelor with piercing baby blue eyes is chasing after you."

She raised a brow at his description. "I'm not interested, but I'm getting the feeling you are."

Miroku, not easily fazed by such comments, continued. "And he's also interested in rare books? I think you've met Mr. Right and you just haven't realized it."

"I guess I'm just not used to the attention." Kagome sighed and sat back in her seat.

Nodding, he swept his eyes through the crowd and landed on a woman who came into the sunroom. She was tall and slim with long dark hair tied up in a flirty ponytail. Her eyes were sharp and registering the crowd quickly.

"I'd like to jingle her bells." Miroku nudged her cousin and nodded toward the woman who caught his attention.

Kagome glared at him. "Seriously?"

"Hey, you're the one who wanted me to come with you." He grinned at his cousin. "You have to deal with the consequences now."

Rolling her eyes, she turned her attention to the crowd. "Which one? The blonde with the huge... assets in the pink tube dress? Or is it the redhead with the short black skirt?"

Shaking his head at her suggestions, he clarified. "Brunette, pony tail, black blazer, shiny dress."

She wondered about the shiny dress, but her eyes eventually landed on the woman with the black jacket and gold sequined dress. Kagome was surprised by the woman in question. Her hemline wasn't ridiculously short and her body wasn't an exaggerated caricature of curves. From past experiences, Miroku had a tendency to go for the bimbo, but this seemed to be a new corner. However, his lewd comment about jingling her bells wasn't new.

"I think she might be out of your league." She pointed out jokingly. Kagome wasn't blind and knew her cousin was gorgeous and a smooth talker. He had a tendency to bed hop, so going after a serious female candidate was unusual. Kagome knew just by looking at the woman that Miroku's usual charms would fall flat.

"That hurts Kagome." He said as he fixed his collar. "I'm going in though."

She rolled her eyes at Miroku and waved him away. "Go forth and conquer. I'll be here when she turns you down."

He shot her a look before standing. "Don't jinx me."

Kagome watched on as he sauntered away with more confidence than she could ever hope to muster. She really wondered if they were related sometimes.

Taking her cousin's absence as an opportunity to check her email, Kagome dug through her clutch for her phone. She had been itching to check her mail since Miroku picked her up that night, but had kept her urge in check. He sometimes teased her that she was overly attached to her phone, and that the device was the personal relationship she had. It wasn't her fault that she was constantly waiting for important emails from her connections. The rare book industry was more cut throat than people thought. Most people believed she sat behind a desk and went online looking through eBay listings, but in reality it was more of a treasure hunt. There were also certain titles and copies that every collector had on their list of must-haves, and so the competition was brutal. Kagome considered herself a book broker, and so negotiating was part of her daily life. So when a book she needed became available for purchase, she needed to swoop in before the other book dealers did. The early bird gets the worm after all.

Tonight, she was expecting a reply back from one of her connections in Japan. There was a particular copy of _The Tale of Genji_ she was on the hunt for, and her latest lead seemed very promising. Scrolling through her emails, she frowned at not seeing the response from the Japanese book dealer. This was going to nag at her for the rest of the night. However, her mood lightened at seeing an email back from a Chicago book store she'd been hounding for weeks. It wasn't _The Tale of Genji_, but it was a book she had been spending years searching for.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, almost under her breath. But it seemed that during her engrossment with her email she hadn't noticed someone taking the seat next to her.

"Good news?" A male voice asked her.

Kagome quickly typed a reply back to Chicago before she had a chance to be distracted. She wasn't about to lose this book just because of a party. After hitting send, she grinned, "You have no idea." When she finally looked up, her smile disappeared and her face fell. "Oh, it's you."

Inuyasha, the intruder to her moment of elation, raised a brow at her reaction. "Nice to see you too."

Tucking her cell phone away into her clutch, she gripped the arm rest to tug herself up. "Well, bye."

When she was on her feet and about to step away, he reached out and pulled her back by her arm. Toppling backward with a grunt, the only thing cushioning her fall against the hard patio furniture was his other arm extended behind her. For a moment she wondered if he would end up with a bruise with her body crashing down on it, but pushed the thought aside. It was his own fault anyways.

Shooting him a glare she sat forward so that she wasn't lying back on his arm. "You could have just said 'hey, I need to talk to you.'" She rubbed her sore back. "No need to resort to violence."

He doubted the term violence was accurate, but let it slide. "I sat right next to you after making an ass of myself. If that's not an indication I want to talk, I don't know what is."

"What? You didn't say enough before?" She accused. "You don't like my dress? My hair looks ridiculous? I don't belong here?"

"Whoa, I wasn't going to say any of that." He attempted charm and flashed a smile. "I'm a fan of your dress and hair. All very nice."

Her expression remained deadpan as she waited expectantly for him to say anything else. He looked her over awkwardly and finally gave a lame response. "So how do you know Miroku?"

"He's my date." She answered vaguely. Sure, they were related but he didn't need to know that. She needed any excuse to get rid of this guy.

Inuyasha seemed skeptical and glanced toward the crowd. "You let your date hit on other girls?"

"He knows where to come back to." She was making herself sound out to be a girlfriend that was okay with being cheated on, but at least she wasn't lying. Miroku was her date for the night. Also, whenever he moved on from a girl Miroku tended to get into a mood. Sure, he did a lot of the dumping but he always needed to be cheered up. It was on more than one occasion when he showed up at her door with a six-pack of beer and pizza. She always wondered why he never went to his friends, but if Inuyasha was any indication she understood.

"Either you're confident or a fool." He commented.

Kagome crossed her arms in front o her chest and set her best glare on him. "You know that you're an asshole, right?"

He went to protest, but was interrupted by an intruder. "Is this guy bothering you?"

Kagome looked up hoping to see her cousin sweep in to her rescue, but instead it was the host of the party and the guy she was trying to duck. "Kouga. Hey, I've been looking for you." She plastered on her best enthusiastic face. "Great party."

"You enjoying yourself?" Kouga sat on the arm rest and handed her a drink. Kagome took it, but didn't take a sip. She really wasn't sure how much she could trust him but wanted to be polite.

"Yeah." She nodded. "You have a beautiful house."

Kouga grinned at the compliment and then directed his attention to the other man. "You actually showed up."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You invited me."

"I didn't think you'd come though." Kouga motioned between the two. "You know each other?"

Kagome adamantly shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Way to make a feel a guy welcome." Inuyasha frowned and shot her a look. "I know Miroku, so by relation..."

Kouga interjected. "Who's Miroku?"

"Her date." Inuyasha answered before Kagome had a chance to.

She could feel herself falling deeper into a pit of awkwardness. She had led Inuyasha to believe that Miroku was her date to leave her alone, but she didn't want everyone to think so. Kouga thinking she had a boyfriend was convenient and was probably the best solution for him to lose interest, but he knew people from her work. Eventually, someone was going to realize that Miroku was her first cousin and people would either get the idea that she was lying to everyone or that she was dating her first cousin. Both prospects were disturbing and not exactly helping her cause.

"You brought a date?" Kouga sounded disappointed and disbelieving.

"He's not my boyfriend though." She corrected. Mentally she groaned. Great, she was sounding like she was interested in Kouga. What she needed was a rescue, and quickly.

Looking through the crowd to catch sight of her cousin, she felt a sense of relief when his eyes met hers. She shot him a smile and played with her left earring. His eyes widened a bit, and then he nodded. Fearing that she would eventually be cornered by Kouga, Kagome had been adamant in developing a distress code earlier in the car. So Kagome had stowed her usually fidgety self and had not played with her hair or earrings the entire night. Right earring meant that she needed help. Left earring meant she needed to leave before she did something awful or was swept into a situation she couldn't handle.

Miroku was surprisingly quick in covering the distance. Kagome was never more grateful than now that he had a brotherly protective streak in him. Miroku, however, was not brash and barreling in without a plan. He was nothing if not clever.

"You guys keeping my girl company?" He asked when he finally reached them.

Kagome mentally praised him for his word choice. At least he was keeping up the appearances that he was her date. But was that the best decision?

"When did you two meet?" Kouga skipped over any pleasantries and went right for the interrogation.

Miroku exchanged a knowing glance with Kagome before answering. "I can't remember a time when I didn't know her." He knew exactly what situation he had stepped into and how to act.

"She's never mentioned you." Superficially, Kouga's tone was polite but everyone present knew that he was being snide.

"Why would she mention me at work?" Miroku smiled confidently and extended his hand out for Kagome to take. "Let's get going."

Inuyasha, who had acted only as spectator up to this point chimed in. "Didn't you just get here?"

Kagome was all too eager to take her cousin's arm to stand up and gave a pleasant smile to the two men. "There's a family thing tonight and I promised my mom I would at least stop by." She was surprised by how easily the lie flowed out of her.

There was a look that crossed Inuyasha's features that Kagome couldn't read. She didn't know the man very well, but she got the feeling that he was judging her nine ways to Sunday. She reasoned that his opinion didn't really matter to her either way.

She smiled politely back at Kouga, "Thanks for inviting me. I had a great time." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, and immediately after regretted her decision but kept her smile in place. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Kouga responded in kind and nodded curtly at Miroku. "It was nice meeting you."

They exchanged their pleasantries while Kagome glanced over momentarily at Inuyasha. He was watching her like a hawk. She raised a brow at him, and he responded by narrowing his eyes. It was no skin off her nose. So far, this guy was proving to be a jerk. She could do without a friend like that, despite the fact that Miroku seemed to call him a close friend.

Miroku steered her away after telling Inuyasha that he'd see him tomorrow -which solidified this supposed friendship she had in her mind between the two.

"So what was the emergency?" Miroku whispered conspiratorially. "Was it Inuyasha or Kouga?"

"More my fault than theirs." She sighed as they made their way toward where he had stashed their coats. "I led Inuyasha to think that you're my boyfriend so he wouldn't bug me, and then he tells Kouga when he showed up. I needed to get out of there before they found out you were my cousin."

"Did you drag me into an incestuous scandal?" He feigned disappointment and shook his head. "Well, at least you're hot."

She gave an exaggerated eye roll. "Because that's the important part of this situation." Then she looked at him expectantly. "How'd it go with the girl? Any luck?"

Miroku frowned. "She was a tough one to crack. Eventually she gave me her name and number so I would stop bothering her." He showed her his palm with the name 'Mirei' and a number neatly written. "I'm getting the feeling they're both fake."

Kagome laughed at her cousin's misfortune. "I told you she was out of your league."

"Want to do me the favor of calling the number tomorrow?" Coming to a closed door, Miroku led them in. Once inside, Kagome saw rows and rows of rolling racks with coats of all shapes and sizes neatly hanging.

"Why me?" She asked as Miroku disappeared into the sea of coats to retrieve theirs.

"So I don't sound like an idiot." He said from somewhere in the abyss of outerwear.

"Oh, but if I sound like an idiot that's perfectly fine." She called out in his general direction.

There was some rustling and finally her cousin broke through all the material with two coats in hand. "I came to this party as a favor. You could at least help a guy out."

"You got three phone numbers at this party. I think you got the better end of this deal." Taking her coat she frowned as she tugged it on. "I don't know how me calling is going to alleviate your humiliation of getting a fake number. Also, it can't be your first time."

"Yeah, but you'd phrase it in a way that would lessen the blow." He said with a grin, but faltered at seeing the look on her face. "Right?"

She considered his offer a long moment and finally nodded. "Fine. Just text me the name and number later. I'll call her and tell you how it goes."

"I knew I could count on you." He offered his arm again and grinned as she took it. "So are we going to visit your mom now?"

Kagome chuckled and shook her head. "That was a blatant lie. The family function is next week, you know, on Christmas Eve."

Miroku winced. "I can already hear grandpa's lecture about settling down with a nice girl."

"He's not that bad." She weaved through the party with him toward the front door. "You didn't have to live with him until leaving for college. I used to get the daily sermon that I would die if even thought about sex or drugs. So you can survive a family get-together a couple times a year."

He sighed in defeat. Kagome really did get the brunt of the old man's unsolicited advice. One, for being the only granddaughter and the other for being the favorite. His grandfather never said as much, but Miroku had his suspicions. His main evidence was the amount of ice cream his grandfather scooped for Kagome compared to the amount he or Kagome's brother, Souta, received.

"Where are we off to now?" He asked as they finished covering the majority of the party and broke out into the chilly night air. "Want to go grab a drink? I know you didn't finish yours earlier."

She considered his offer for a moment and then shook her head. Glancing over at him she flashed a smile and motioned toward the direction of his car. "Let's go get waffles."

"Waffles?" He was, as usual, surprised by his cousin's spontaneity.

"I skipped lunch to wear this dress." She said as she leaned down and tugged off her shoes. The pavement beneath her feet was bitingly cold but it was a nice relief from the steep angle of the heels.

"Why waffles though?" He didn't bother talking her back into her shoes, because he knew that there was neither hell nor high water that could talk her into doing something she already set her mind to.

"Why not?" She shrugged. "I need comfort food. Thanks to your friend, I think I lost Kouga as a customer."

"How?" He opened the car door for her as he asked.

"Because he couldn't keep his trap shut." She sighed and leaned back in the car seat. "Now Kouga thinks I'm dating you."

"You were selling books by leading a guy on?" Miroku chuckled and shook his head. "You could have just told the truth."

"Which makes me seem like I'm available." She grumbled.

Going around the car and getting in he glanced over at her. "But you are available."

"Kouga doesn't need to know that."

He was getting confused by her explanation and asked for clarification. "So are you interested in Kouga or not?"

"Not." She answered succinctly. "I just wanted to keep him as a client."

"And he'd only do that if he thought you were available." He concluded for her.

"That's what I suspected before tonight, and your buddy confirmed it."

"Inuyasha?" He wondered if that's how his friend got on Kagome's bad side.

"He informed me about the 'wall of seduction.'" She glanced out the window as he started up the engine. "But maybe he helped me dodge a bullet."

Something happened tonight at the party and Miroku suspected that Inuyasha had a severe case of foot in mouth disease. He'd try to get the details from Kagome over waffles -as good food always loosened her tongue. And tomorrow, he'd grill Inuyasha while they watched the football game on TV.


	2. Let it Snow

Author Notes: Merry Christmas! Hope you guys are having a fun holiday season, not matter your faith or beliefs. I've been in the holiday spirit with this little fic, and I apologize. I know my readers are waiting for another installment of System Compatibility, but I promise I am working on that one as well. This is the next chapter for E&B, and it's actually really fun to get these out. Let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer: The **_**Inuyasha**_** world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Takahashi Rumiko.**

**Let it Snow**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

Sitting back comfortably on his couch, Inuyasha casually accepted the beer his friend, Miroku, handed him -or at least as casually as he could muster.

It was halftime of the big game and their team was up by fifteen points and there really wasn't much to worry about. Instead, Inuyasha was trying to bring up a certain topic as casually as possible. He wracked his brain on how casual worked. Was he always this awkward?

"So how do you know Kouga?" Miroku asked as he took the other end of the couch and propped his feet on the coffee table.

Inuyasha appreciated his friend initiating the conversation, he could steer this one to his advantage. "Remember how I told you about that douche in my software coding class in college?"

"The one who left school before graduating because he successfully launched some big internet thing from his studio apartment?" Miroku guessed and took a swig of his beer.

"Yeah, well, that's Kouga." He grumbled thinking about of his rival of sorts.

Inuyasha and Kouga had spent the better part of a decade in a tense rivalry. With the same major in college and having hit on the same girl on the same night at a bar once, they were doomed to hate each other. Maybe if the circumstances were different, they might have actually gotten along.

"How have I never met this guy?" Miroku questioned.

Inuyasha frowned at his friend's question. "Because I'm not friends with him."

"But he invited you to a party." He pointed out.

"He invites me to all his parties." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Why?" Miroku was genuinely intrigued. There was little he thought he didn't know about his friend, but he was obviously being proven wrong. While Inuyasha occasionally griped about the elusive asshole from his coding course, Miroku had always been under the impression they were constantly at each other's throats. But from what he had witnessed the night before, they were perfectly civil.

"Because he invites the rich and famous." Inuyasha said with an eye roll.

"And you fit the first description." Miroku concluded for him. "Then you two seemed to get along fine last night."

Visibly perking at the opportunity to get the conversation on the topic he wanted, Inuyasha tried to keep his voice casual. "That's because your date was there. It got ugly right after you left with her."

"How gentlemanly of you." He responded and turned back to the TV, done with his own questions.

But Inuyasha had his set and he was itching to fire off. "So," he began nonchalantly, "You're dating this girl?"

Glancing at his friend, Miroku played along. "Who? Kagome?"

Inuyasha turned the name over in his head and wondered why it sounded so familiar. In the end, he had never found out her name and Kouga wasn't much help in that department. Ever since the night before, he had speculated as to why Miroku hadn't come clean about this girl he was dating but maybe he had. If the name sounded familiar, it was likely Miroku had mentioned it at least in passing.

"Yeah," Inuyasha nodded. "You were going to see her family? I never pegged you one to get tied down."

"She is special." Miroku admitted vaguely.

Thinking back to the previous night, Inuyasha frowned at his friend's description. "She told Kouga you weren't her boyfriend."

He wasn't sure why he told Miroku this piece of information. He hoped it was because he had an inherent need to protect his friend from a girl who was fishing for her next boyfriend. But instead, he thought maybe he was being spiteful and cruel. Inuyasha couldn't exactly explain why, but he didn't want Miroku dating this girl.

A knowing smirk tugged on Miroku's lips as he decided to put his friend out of his misery. "Because I'm not." He chuckled at the confused and hopeful look on Inuyasha's face. "Kagome is my cousin."

At hearing the clarification, Inuyasha frowned. "You're dating your cousin?"

"No, I'm not dating my cousin. I went with her last night because she wanted the company." Miroku shot him an incredulous look. "You didn't think it was weird that I didn't tell you about a girl I was seriously dating?"

"A little." Inuyasha shrugged. "But I figured you were embarrassed or something."

Before Miroku could question his friend as to why he would be embarrassed by something like that, Inuyasha's cell phone started to ring. Gesturing to Miroku to hold his thought, Inuyasha dug out his phone from his pocket. "Hello?"

"Oh," the woman on the other line sounded confused. "Sorry. Wrong number." The line went dead before he could respond.

"Who was that?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha stared at his phone.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Wrong number I guess." But as he went to put the phone away, it started ringing again. Exchanging a look with his friend, Inuyasha answered again. "Hello?"

There was light grumble from the other line. "Again? Is this phone number ending in 6465?"

"Yeah." He responded, already bored with the conversation.

"Poor guy." She mumbled under her breath. "Sorry, again, I thought this was Mirei's number."

"Wait, Mirei?" The name triggered an alarm in his head. "You got the right phone then."

"Oh, good. Is she there?" She asked tentatively.

Inuyasha let out a tired sigh. "Look, I'm sure you're a nice girl. But she's not interested." He could hear her attempt to say something, but he interrupted her. "She's also not gay, so you're barking up the wrong tree."

"But-" she started.

"This is the number she passes out when a guy won't stop bothering her for her number. This is her human attended rejection hotline." He continued. "So why don't you run off to the closest lesbian bar and pick up a nice girl."

With that, Inuyasha ended the call and slid his phone onto the coffee table. When he didn't address it and only went back to his beer, Miroku shot him a speculative look but Inuyasha only shrugged in response.

"What was that about?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha didn't relinquish any information.

"Sango has a habit of giving my phone number out instead of hers when there are overly desperate guys on the prowl." He explained. "My cue is when a guy asks for Mirei. But apparently she's sending out some lady-loving vibes, because this time it was a chick."

In the next short minute Miroku's phone was the one that went off. He glanced at it momentarily and set it down, only for it to alert again. Picking up the phone again, he distractedly asked his friend. "You're not interested in my cousin or anything, are you?"

With the sudden topic change, Inuyasha was thrown off. Slightly panicked, Inuyasha shook his head vehemently and scoffed. "No. Absolutely not."

"Really?" Miroku asked with a smirk. "Because I thought maybe you had a thing for her."

"What makes you say that?" Inuyasha was good at many things, but acting smooth about a prospective female was not one of them.

"From what she told me about last night, you looked for her to apologize." Miroku pointed out with a waggle of his eyebrows. "And you never say you're sorry unless you have something to be gained."

Inuyasha frowned at the suggestive look from his friend. "So you're suggesting I'm trying to nail your cousin."

It was Miroku's turn to frown. "You couldn't have phrased that a little differently? She is my baby cousin."

"You're the one who waggled your eyebrows." He motioned to his friend's face. "And I'm not trying to gain anything with her."

"You sure about that? You don't want to get on her good side?" Miroku asked.

"It's really not on my list of concerns." He reiterated a little too intensely. "I'm probably never going to see her again."

Miroku nodded and handed his phone over to his friend. "Good, because you just chewed out my cousin over the phone."

Inuyasha took the phone skeptically and looked down at the message screen. The name at the top said 'Kagome' and he could feel cold sweat starting. The first message on the list was one from Miroku to Kagome with the name Mirei and Inuyasha's phone number.

The message back said, _"Sorry, no go. Fake number. :("_

The second message was the one he zeroed in on. _"Some asshole picked up the phone and went on this homophobic rant. I think it was her boyfriend. He sounded weirdly familiar though."_

"Kagome hit on Sango?" Inuyasha was genuninely surprised.

"No, that was me. I suspected a fake number and asked her to make the call."

"So you're a coward." Inuyasha tossed the phone back to his friend. "Also, it was not a homophobic rant."

"No, but you told her to run off to a lesbian bar and you sounded really annoyed." Miroku maneuvered the phone. "Don't worry, I'll set her straight."

"Wait, you're going to tell her it was me?" Inuyasha sat up.

"Of course. This is a perfect case of small world. I mean seriously, what are the odds?" He smirked as he poised to type. "I ran into you at a party that I wasn't even invited to. And then I hit on a girl that you came with. Then, I had the cousin who you insulted at the very same party and call the girl instead of me, and it ended up being you."

Just as Miroku was about to type up a message to Kagome, Inuyasha grabbed the phone away. "You don't have to go out of your way to soil my name."

"Why do you care? You're never going to see her again, right?" Miroku smirked at his friend, knowing very well what he was hinting at.

"Yeah." He tried keeping cool. "But she's your cousin and you're my best friend. I might eventually run into her again."

"Oh, so you have plans of seeing her again." Miroku grinned.

"What? No. She's a book snob." He was sounding more indignant than he wanted, but again, he was not great at playing the game. "She's probably all high and mighty."

Miroku frowned at his friend. "You do realize that's my cousin you're talking about right?"

"Okay, too far." He admitted. "But I'm probably never going to see her again."

It wasn't until a little later that Inuyasha would realize he would eat his words.

xXx

Kagome readjusted the strap of the overnight bag she slung on her shoulders. The pack wasn't particularly heavy, but walking the fifteen blocks she lugged the thing was wearing on her. First, she got an odd text from her cousin's phone about how he needed a change of clothes and his toothbrush. There wasn't much else to the text, no explanation as to why but with a street address and apartment number. She vaguely knew which neighborhood it was in, but was unfamiliar with the address.

Aside from the foreign address, the text was also uncharacteristically curt. She couldn't accuse her cousin of being lengthy with his text messages, but there was usually at least an explanation. But being the good cousin that she was, she dragged herself out of her warm comfortable apartment and trekked over to his. Thankfully, it wasn't far because of a stipulation her mother had when she moved into the city and away from the suburbs. Her mother had worried about her only daughter going into the bustling center of town, but was smoothly talked into it by Miroku. He reasoned that if Kagome was within a four block radius from his apartment, he could be there in the case of an emergency. What Kagome's mother didn't realize was that Kagome would be doing most of the emergency rescues.

And this was such a case. While Miroku's apartment wasn't far, the address she was texted was a bit of a walk. So after shoving some clothes into the empty gym bag she found in Miroku's closet and fetching his toothbrush, she began her journey.

The main thing Kagome noticed on her walk with the bag was that the streets progressively got nicer the closer she reached the address. She and Miroku didn't live in a bad neighborhood, but it wasn't a ritzy. The shops and restaurants were zooming straight out of her budget range with each passing step.

When she finally reached the apartment building, a friendly doorman greeted her at the door. When she told him the apartment number, he gave a cheerful smile and gestured her toward the elevator. Walking past the luxurious lobby, Kagome suddenly felt severely underdressed. She wondered if the building was black tie only. Stepping into the elevator, she was relieved to not find an elevator attendant. At least she didn't have feel nervous and awkward on the climb up.

How her cousin had ended up at this particular residence was a mystery. The mystery only grew when she realized that her destination was the penthouse apartment of a ridiculously upscale building in the high class neighborhood.

The elevator finally reached its destination and she stepped out into a small foyer area with a single door. Whoever owned this place was wealthier than even Kouga to be able to afford a penthouse apartment in the most expensive city in the country.

Glancing down at her dark wash skinny jeans, black leather ankle boots and her winter parka, she felt underdressed. She could only mentally pat herself on the back for taking a shower that morning. At least she was clean and presentable.

Ringing the doorbell, she waited and readjusted the bag on her shoulder. When the door finally opened, her reaction slipped out of her before she could help it. "Wow."

The woman who opened the door was familiar, being as Kagome had sized her up with Miroku only the night before. The girl with the blazer and sparkly dress from the party was the one to open the door for her. Granted, she wasn't wearing her sparkly dress and instead was in more casual clothes. Kagome let out a mental sigh of relief at seeing the other girl in jeans too. Okay, so she wasn't as underdressed as she thought.

"Thanks for the compliment." The girl smiled and motioned for her to come in. "You must be Kagome."

Kagome gave a sheepish smile and stepped through. "Sorry, I just didn't think Miroku had a chance. Mirei, right?"

"Oh, no. Your cousin has no chance." She clarified and shut the door behind Kagome as she entered. "And it's Sango. Mirei is a fake name."

"Figured. Your boyfriend wasn't exactly subtle about your disinterest." Kagome followed Sango through the hallway and into the living room. "So what am I doing here? Miroku wasn't explicit in his text."

"That wasn't your cousin." She said as she led Kagome up a set of stairs.

Kagome followed obediently behind the woman, who she was labeling as possibly the coolest girl she'd ever met. Kagome could only wonder as to what she did for a living to pay for not only a penthouse apartment but a duplex. Sango exuded confidence that Kagome could only hope to have one day. No wonder Miroku chased after her. With her train of thought, Kagome wondered if maybe she was developing a girl crush on Sango.

"And that wasn't my boyfriend." Sango explained as she reached a guestroom door.

Frowning at Sango's last offhanded comment, Kagome followed her into the room. Once inside she was only momentarily mesmerized by the skyline visible from the window, but her attention was immediately drawn to her cousin. Miroku was propped up in the bed with the covers up to his waist. His eyes brightened and he shot her a goofy grin. "Kagome!"

She groaned at seeing her cousin. "What happened this time?"

"He has a concussion." A male voice clarified from a corner she couldn't see.

When she stepped further into the room and saw the owner of the voice to be Inuyasha, Kagome's expression went from upset to annoyed. Of course. Where else would her cousin end up if not to the side of her new arch nemesis? Okay, so that may have been exaggerating the situation a bit.

"What did you do to my cousin?" Kagome asked accusingly at the man.

"I didn't do anything." He contended and motioned toward Miroku. "He's the one who got a plastic tub and used it to slide down the stairs like a drunken bobsledder."

Kagome shook her head and approached her cousin. "You okay in there?" She searched Miroku's mildly lucid eyes. "So whose idea was it to slide down the stairs?"

"Inuyasha." Miroku said with laugh. "He said he's done it before and slid all the way across the living room and a little bit down the hall. So, challenge accepted."

Thinking back on the format of the apartment downstairs, Kagome sighed. "And let me guess, you hit the wall instead of the clearing the hallway."

"Bingo!" He exclaimed and laughed. He paused momentarily, and suddenly said in a serious voice. "Kagome, the weather outside is frightful. But the fire, it's so delightful. And since we've got no place to go..."

Seeing the expectant look from her cousin, Kagome sighed and finished off the lyrics. "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." Kagome furrowed her brows and looked toward the other two occupants of the room. "Are you guys sure he's not just drunk?"

"He's still a little drunk, but he also has a mild concussion. He just needs to be monitored for the next several hours, but he'll be fine by tomorrow." Sango explained with a sigh. "I wasn't actually here for the stupid act. I got called in after the fact."

"Sango is a doctor." Inuyasha added as an aside.

Another point tallied toward Sango's coolness factor. Kagome wondered if there was any hope for a girl like her if girls like Sango walked among them. While Kagome could only track down a rare book, Sango saved lives. Yup, definitely girl crush.

"Small world." Kagome commented.

"That's what Miroku said." Inuyasha pointed out, realizing that these two cousins were closer than even he previously thought.

"Who would have thought that you knew Inuyasha and he knows Miroku and he would hit on you at Kouga's party..." Kagome's words trailed off as her mind clicked and she shot Inuyasha a glare. "You."

He feigned innocence. "What?"

"You're the bigot on the phone!" She accused.

Sango sighed and turned toward her friend. "What did you say this time?"

"I thought it was another loser who hit on you." Inuyasha tried reasoning.

Sango glanced at Kagome, then to Miroku. "You didn't even have the guts to call me yourself?"

Miroku, who was distracted by the geometric pattern of the duvet, didn't respond. Kagome shrugged and attempted defending her cousin. "He really is a nice guy underneath it all."

Sango decided not to comment. It really wasn't polite to speak badly of someone's family in front of the said family member.

"Well, it seems like you guys have it under control." Kagome set the bag on the ground. "And this has been a weird encounter, I'm going to get going."

Inuyasha stepped forward. "Whoa, wait a minute. You're not leaving him here."

Kagome stood up and crossed her arms. "You need to keep him awake. I doubt you need help with that."

"He's your family. Take him with you." He argued.

"He's your best friend." She retaliated. "And if you wanted to pawn him off onto me, why did you want me to bring his change of clothes and a toothbrush?"

"He threw up all over his clothes." Inuyasha explained, to which Kagome finally noticed that Miroku was dressed in only an undershirt despite the winter weather.

"You couldn't lend him anything?" Kagome frowned.

He shrugged. "He refused. He kept saying my clothes weren't good enough for him."

"He also kept asking for you." Sango offered as a reason.

"Because she's my favorite cousin." Miroku declared with a goofy grin.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Don't let Souta hear you say that." She then turned back to Inuyasha and shot him a stern look. "If he gets hurt under your watch, then he has to recover under your watch."

Sango nodded. "Sounds fair."

Inuyasha glared at her. "Whose side are you on?"

"Also," Kagome added. "If he needs to stay awake, why is he in bed?"

"Actually that was Miroku's idea." Sango dodged a waggle of eyebrows from Miroku. "He said he was sick and needed to be tucked in."

Sighing Kagome crouched down by her cousin. "Does he have brain damage or something?"

"No, that's just the alcohol talking." Sango clarified. "That should be wearing off soon."

"Then he'll be back to his lecherous self?" Kagome asked while indicating for Miroku to take her hands.

"He might slur his words and have a headache." Sango explained as she watched Kagome struggle to get Miroku onto his feet.

"Come on big guy." She hefted her cousin by his arms and tugged up and back. When Miroku balanced on his feet, she discovered he severely lacked pants. "Why are you only in your underpants?"

"Don't be ridiculous Gome." Miroku chuckled while using a newly minted nickname for his cousin. "I have a t-shirt on." He indicated his shirt like a game show girl.

Grabbing the bag that she lugged through the city with her she set it on the bed. "You. Clothes." Kagome turned and went toward the door. "And that's my cue."

"You're not leaving him here." Inuyasha followed her out with Sango at his heels.

"Why do you care?" Kagome asked just outside the guestroom door. "It's not even your apartment."

Inuyasha shot her a confused frown. "Yes, it is."

Kagome shot him the same confused look, then faced Sango. "You two are married then?" Had she just stepped into a weird swinging open marriage? Is that why Miroku kept on wanting to introduce her to her friends? Wait, no, her cousin wouldn't do that to her. Would he?

"Oh God no." Sango was adamantly. "I'm just a friend. I got a call from this idiot about your cousin slamming into the wall."

"Wait, this isn't your place?" Kagome started seeing the apartment with new eyes. While she had previously been under the impression that Sango was cool enough that she could pull off a very masculine looking house, she now realized that it was a little to masculine. There was no sign of feminine life in this place. She gave a side-eyed glance at Inuyasha. "This is your place, isn't it?"

"Yeah." He answered, sounding slightly embarrassed for some reason. "So I need you to collect Miroku."

Kagome shook her head. "No. I'm not escorting a drunk and concussed Miroku through the city just because you want him out of your hair."

"I'd call a cab for you." He reasoned. "Look, I wouldn't mind watching the guy -trust me, it wouldn't be the first time. But he won't stop asking for you."

"That's actually true." Sango added. "He kept on talking about how great a person you are. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was in love with you."

Kagome groaned, she knew better. Miroku was one to brag about friends and family, but he only laid it on thick when he was trying to play matchmaker. He no doubt thought he was being supremely subtle, but when Miroku crossed the line from sober to drunk he also crossed the line of decorum.

And with the only male perspective within hearing distance being Inuyasha, her cousin was no doubt trying to fix her up with his rude friend. Kagome could think at least twenty-five things she'd rather do than deal with Miroku trying to fix her up... again.

"He's just drunk." Kagome wrote off, not wanting to explain that Miroku was trying to get her and Inuyasha together. "Anyways, you need to go check if he's still awake."

"You go check on him." Inuyasha stood his ground and kept his eyes on her.

"No. You had the fun that got him into this situation, so you need to watch him." Kagome was also firm. "I love the guy, but he gets really needy when he's sick."

"Lucky for you, he's not sick. He's injured." He corrected.

"Under your watch." She rebutted.

"Someone really should check on him." Sango said while glancing back at the room.

"You." Kagome asserted.

Inuyasha raised a brow and shook his head. "You."

"Send in the cute one!" Miroku hollered from the room.

Inuyasha smirked. "I'm guessing that's not me."

"You sure with all that pretty boy hair?" Kagome mocked.

Inuyasha exchanged a look with his friend before Miroku interrupted with another yell. "I meant Sango!"

Kagome shared a look with Inuyasha and grinned. She turned toward Sango, "You're up."

Letting out a sigh, Sango relented and headed toward the room. "Just don't kill each other while I'm gone. I don't want to deal with any more injuries."

Kagome turned her eyes to Inuyasha. "I can't promise anything."


	3. Feliz Navidad

Author Notes: Okay, so this story is delayed (per usual). I didn't beat the holiday season, but this story will stay holiday themed. I mean, it's still feels holiday-ish until the snow lets up, right? Let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer: The **_**Inuyasha**_** world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Takahashi Rumiko.**

**Feliz Navidad**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

Miroku tapped his fingers against the steering wheel to the rhythm of the music as he patiently waited for Kagome. After the debacle at Inuyasha's apartment, he had a lot of favors left to grant to his forgiving cousin. Even though she did try to pawn him off to Inuyasha, Kagome had stuck it out and helped keep him awake. The majority of that night was a bit foggy in his head, but he did recall a lot of fighting between his best friend and cousin. They really were like cats and dogs -and he had a pretty good idea which was what.

Miroku did, however, remember Sango being there begrudgingly. She would every so often check that he was doing okay and that he was sobering up. He, on the other hand, made more than one blatant pass at her. There was an apologetic Christmas card was already on the way to the poor doctor. Sure, he was a womanizing dog, but he had his standards of not acting like a drunken concussed idiot toward a woman.

His recollection of the previous week was interrupted when the back door opened and Kagome deposited various bags into the back seat. Finishing her task, she entered through the front passenger and plopped down into the seat. She gripped the seatbelt buckle and strapped herself in.

"Onward and upward." She instructed him once she was situated.

"Not sure about the upward, but onward we go." He pulled his car out of the parallel parking space he found conveniently in front of her building. "So is there anything good for me back there?"

Kagome raised a brow at his question. "You expect a Christmas present after what you put me through with your buddy?"

"He's not that bad." Miroku attempted defending his friend. What he didn't voice was that he had a similar conversation with Inuyasha earlier in the week.

"I don't want to talk about him." She said and reached for the radio to change music and topics. Once she found a station she could tolerate, she glance over to her cousin. "Guess who waltzed into the shop today?"

"The mayor?" He guessed wildly.

She wondered about his left-field deduction, but continued. "No, Kouga dropped by."

"Didn't you say you thought you lost him as a client?" He questioned with a sidelong glance.

"That's what I thought, but apparently he saw you hitting on Sango." She explained. "He went on and on about how a guy like that doesn't deserve me."

"He's right. You shouldn't date someone who's going to hit on other women in front of you." He commented. "But you also shouldn't date a guy who come on to women who are already in a relationship."

She shook her head. "That's the thing. He didn't hit on me. He just came in to talk about another book he wanted."

"Another Hemingway?" He mused.

"He was full of surprises. He wants a copy of 'The Great Gatsby.'" She said happily. "I mean, sure, Lost Generation, he's not exactly stretching his wings but that shows diversity."

Miroku frowned at her optimism. "Tell me you're getting a literature hard-on and not actually considering this guy."

Kagome stumbled a bit over her words but then shrugged. "He doesn't seem half bad."

"Seriously? Kouga?" He sounded disbelieving.

"You don't even know the guy." She rebutted. "And I didn't say I agreed to a date."

"You're just considering it." He sighed in defeat.

"If he were to ask again... I might say yes." She answered vaguely.

"I haven't heard the best things about him." He added.

"From Inuyasha, no doubt." She grumbled. "Well, he had a bit to say about your friend too."

Miroku frowned. "Like what?"

"I don't want to talk about that guy." She cut him off. "It's Christmas. I want to hear annoying carols and be part of family dysfunction."

"We're on our way to the latter." He reached over and switched the station on the radio. "And there you have annoying carols. We're on our way to Kagome's perfect Christmas."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. Miroku may have had a poor judge of friends, but he was always a top grade cousin. He was the big brother she always had but never quite appreciated until she was older.

The rest of the car ride was smooth sailing as Miroku winced every so often when Kagome would belt out a song along with the radio and her voice would crack at a particularly high note. When 'Silent Night' cued up, Miroku had to bite his tongue in order not to ask her to stop. He never realized how difficult that song was to sing until his cousin's octave range didn't quite reach that high.

When they finally pulled up to the Higurashi family residence out in the suburbs, Miroku was at his limit with Kagome's singing. It wasn't that she was a particularly bad singer; it was just that she wasn't a particularly good one either.

Parking the car behind a silver sedan, Kagome scooted up in her seat to look at the car in front as Miroku parked. She furrowed her brows and glanced over to him. "Whose car is that?"

"Maybe Souta got a car?" He offered as an explanation.

She shook her head. "If he got a car, I would have gotten an earful about it over the phone. He would have talked about how cool it was and how he was going to pick up a bunch of chicks." She shot him a look. "Vocabulary he gets from you."

He rolled his eyes and shut off the engine. "I don't talk like that."

"Close enough." She shrugged and got out of the car. After digging out her bags from the back seat and Miroku doing the same with his packages from the trunk, they ventured to the front door.

He turned toward her before reaching for the door handle. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." She steeled her resolved and nodded to cousin.

With her cue, he went to turn the handle when the door opened from the inside. They shared a surprised look as the door opened all the way. Miroku remained confused as an unknown man in his twenties with brown hair opened the door with a wide grin. Kagome, on the other hand, knew him all too well.

"Hojo." She said disbelievingly as he pulled her into a hug.

"Kagome!" He said laughing. Pulling back only a bit he looked her over and smiled like a long-lost friend. "How long has it been?"

"Um... However many years ago high school was." She answered dumbly.

"Way too long then." He finally let her go and grinned at Miroku. "You're her famous cousin, right?"

Raising a brow at the description, he nodded and extended his hand. "Yeah, sure. Miroku."

He enthusiastically took the other man's hand. "Hojo. I know Kagome from high school."

Kagome was thankful for all the years of communicating silently over family dinners with conspiratorial looks. So when she shot her cousin a look to keep Hojo busy, Miroku gave only a small nod in understanding. She ducked away in the kitchen while he dutifully distracted Hojo. Coming upon her mother who flitted around the kitchen of her childhood home, she set her bags down and stalked up to her.

"What is Hojo doing here?" She hissed at her mother.

Her mother, in turn, greeted her with a smile and pulled her into a hug. "Merry Christmas sweetheart."

"Yes yes, Merry Christmas." She reciprocated the hug and pulled back. "Why is Hojo here?"

Rushing over to the oven to take out a pie, her mother spoke while working. "I ran into him at the grocery store buying a frozen dinner. You know Hojo only has his brother left and he went to go visit his wife's family." She next went over to watch over the various pots and pans cooking on the stove. "Hojo was going to be alone on Christmas Eve, so I invited him."

Shucking off her coat and grabbing an apron, she walked over to the forgotten bowl of half-mashed potatoes. "So you decided to invite my high school boyfriend?" She took the masher and took her aggression out on the potatoes. "It took me moving out of state to get rid of him last time."

"Don't be dramatic." Her mother admonished as she grabbed various serving dishes. "He was a perfectly nice boy. Probably the nicest boy you've ever dated."

"He was smothering me with his over attentiveness." Kagome grumbled as she continued mashing.

"Oh Kagome, only you would fault someone for being too nice." She said as she lined up the dishes on the kitchen table and spooned out the various dishes. "You really should give him another chance."

Kagome froze mid mash and stared wide-eyed at her mother. "Please don't tell me you're trying to set me up with Hojo."

"Are you trying to get Kagome to move away again?" Souta questioned from the doorway of the kitchen. Joining the two women in the room, the high school senior grabbed a cookie. "Can I get her apartment when I graduate?"

Rolling her eyes in good humor Kagome tugged her brother over and hugged him. "This isn't my childhood bedroom you're conquering... again." She smiled at the boy who already towered over her in height. "Merry Christmas."

"Feliz Navidad." He said shrugging. "I'd get all your stuff though."

"I'm not dying." She frowned at her little brother. "And I'm not moving, because I'm not going to date my high school boyfriend again."

Her mother continued on with her work getting the dinner ready and shot both her kids a look that told them she meant business. "You two be polite at dinner. Make Hojo feel welcome. No one should be alone on Christmas."

Kagome kept to her mother's wishes and kept polite at dinner. She was able to better protect herself by strategically placing her chatty grandfather between her and the guest of honor. It also helped that aside from herself, Souta, her mother, Miroku, her grandfather, and Hojo, Miroku's parents were also part of the festivities. Kagome had a full arsenal -in the form of her relatives- to throw at Hojo. By the end of the night she remained unscathed and dateless.

Kagome decided that hiding away in her room while her mother prepared a doggie bag of leftovers for Hojo was the best way to avoid getting invited out for coffee at the last minutes. Sighing from the mental exhaustion, Kagome collapsed backward onto her twin size bed. Her eyes wandered across the walls and saw them bare. She couldn't quiet feel at home in this room, since it wasn't really hers. Souta had switched his room for hers the week after she went off to college. She really couldn't blame him, since she did used to have the bigger room.

There was a knock at the door and Kagome panicked. Flipping over, she fell to the floor and scooted under the bed. Hearing the door open, she tucked herself below the bed. If Hojo came to say his farewell, she wasn't going to let him have the chance.

A pair of feet cautiously entered the room and stepped about for a bit. Kagome watched silently from her hiding place under the bed as a pair of dress pant clad legs approached the bed. She almost voiced a protest when the person sat down on her bed. After a long moment, a familiar male voice called out to her. "Really Kagome? Under the bed?"

Recognizing her cousin's voice, she crawled out from her hiding place. "It's an oldie but goodie."

"You're in your twenties," he said chuckling. "You can't hide under your bed anymore."

Picking off dust bunnies that seem to have clung to her sweater, she took the spot next to him and sat down. "Is the coast clear?"

"Yeah, he's gone." Miroku remarked with a smirk. "Hojo was going to try hunting you down to say good bye, but I convinced him you had one too many slices of pie and needed to lock yourself into the bathroom."

"So he thinks I have exploding diarrhea?" She sighed and leaned back, supporting herself on her elbows. "I guess that'll make him think twice about me."

"He kept saying great things about you." He pointed out. "He's probably a safer bet than Kouga."

"Maybe, but I dated him for the last two years of high school. Actually, I didn't know we were dating until one of my friends told me. I feel like I was lured into a relationship trap." She thought back to her teenage years. "He was the nicest guy at school and way too sweet to dump. I tried liking him, but I just couldn't click with him. And the only way I finally got out of that relationship was by telling him that a long distance relationship wouldn't work out."

"And that's when you went running off to college." Miroku concluded for her. "Well, I guess he was pushing it a little at dinner when he kept making sure if you were single."

"See, I dodged another bullet." She nudged him with a smile. "God knows how long I would have dated him this time."

"Might have even gotten married." He jested. "If you're going for the opposite of the nicest guy..."

As her cousin's words trailed off expectantly, she shot him a glare. "No."

"Why not? I know him. Inuyasha is a good guy. May not be nice, but obviously that's not a problem for you." He pestered. "You know I wouldn't steer your wrong."

Her glared remained in place. "Do I need to remind you of Bankotsu? The guy you set me up with from your office because he seemed 'calm and cool' under pressure?"

"He wasn't that bad." Miroku protested.

"He started a fight on all three dates I went on with him." She argued. "I don't need your mentally imbalanced friends. Anyways, enough about me, what about you? Did you end up getting Sango to go out with you?"

A genuine grin split across his face. "It took about twenty text messages and five voicemails, but she finally said yes."

She laughed and shook her head. "Couldn't that be considered stalking?"

"Not if she says yes and goes out with me for coffee." He reasoned. "And she said yes to a date on New Year's."

"Seriously?" She sounded surprised. "A second date? When was the last time you had one of those?"

"I don't know how I should feel about what you're insinuating." He gave a mock frown. "So you need to get yourself a date for New Year's Eve."

"Why? I make an awesome third wheel." She quipped.

"Bicycles, Kagome. Bicycles. The world isn't made up of tricycles." He argued. "And Sango is apparently holding a party, so let's avoid the bars this year."

Kagome furrowed her brows. "Wait, did you get a date for New Year's or did she just invite you to her party? Because those are two very distinct things."

Miroku frowned. "Why are you trying to ruin my moment?"

"I'm not." She denied. "I'm just trying to warn you so you're not disappointed."

"There was some talk about finding me at midnight." He mused.

"Oh, that does sound promising." She nodded with a smile. She glanced at the clock and saw it was getting late. "So are your parents spending the night like usual?"

"There's no way my mom or yours would break the Higurashi tradition." He remarked. "So where's the air mattress? Or am I sleeping on the floor this year?"

"You're in my old room, Souta's room, again. You know an air mattress won't fit in here." She smirked at his groan. "Or you could take the couch downstairs."

"Tried that two years ago, I woke up with a sore back." He grumbled.

"Souta's grown up now. He's not going to talk your ear off." She tried to stick up for her younger brother. "He also won't wake you up at six in the morning to open presents. If anything, he'll be the one sleeping in."

"Fine." He sighed in defeat, stood up and headed toward the door. "Then I'll see you in the morning by the tree?"

"Family tradition." Kagome nodded. "Wouldn't miss it. You're going to love what I got you."

Miroku grinned. "So you did get me something afterall."


End file.
